Humour Me
by X-magicalmystery-X
Summary: An agreement between friends can lead to so much more. CDHG
1. Chapter 1:Breaking up and walking out

**Disclaimer:** This disclaimer is for the entire story. This particular plot is mine but the characters, names and places are not mine and belong to JKR because Santa didn't come through for me this year.

**Chapter 1: breaking up and walking out…**

"Cedric, listen" Said Cho Chang uncomfortably, smoothing her skirt down and determinedly avoiding eye contact as she talked.

Cedric Diggory looked up from the Quidditch magazine he had been reading, his brow creased with concern

"Is everything ok?" he asked, sounding apprehensive.

"Yes…well, no…it's just…I think…We need to talk." She said finally, looking fascinated by the corner of the coffee table. They were sat in their apartment in London.

There are several key phrases that will bring dread into the heart of anyone in a relationship. One such is "it's not you, it's me really" or "You mustn't take this personally" – Cedric had always been vaguely confused by the second one, he wasn't quite sure how it wasn't personal to you if it was you that they didn't like. – Most men use the just one word "Listen…" whereas girls will use the phrase "We need to talk". It is common knowledge that when one of them is said to you, the chances are, you are about to become single again.

He opened his mouth to say something but she cut across him, knowing that it would be a lot more difficult to carry on if he interrupted.

"I just don't think that it's working out any more Cedric" she said in a rush

"I'm sorry?" he said, already in shock it was incredibly difficult to know what to say. He felt sick and his stomach had just plummeted all the way down to the ground floor.

"I'm breaking up with you" she said calmly, looking him in the eye for the first time "I've decided that I like some one else"

Cedric suddenly felt furious "So that's it, is it?" he said frostily "and I assume I'm just supposed to leave now am I?"

"Well, yes"

"Who is he?"

"What?"

"Who is the bloke you're leaving me for?"

"Oh. Well…"

"WHO IS IT?" He was furious now, he rarely shouted but now he was positively screaming.

Cho looked taken aback "Well, if you must know" she said swallowing "it's Harry Potter"

"What?" laughed Cedric contemptuously, "Harry's going out with Ginny Weasley, they've been together for years" He paused and then decided to rub salt into the wound by adding "If half the rumours are true, they'll be announcing their engagement any day now."

She sniffed, looking a little teary, and held her nose slightly higher "Nothing's over until they're married"

He suddenly felt guilty for making her upset and then he felt another surge of anger at himself for feeling like that and gritted his teeth to keep from shouting.

"Get out" he hissed

"Just who bought this apartment?" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I did" He said simply, feeling more and more livid by the minute "and if you really want us to break up then you had better not be here when I get back."

With that he picked up his jacket and slammed out of the apartment.

Meanwhile, at the other end of London Hermione Granger screamed with frustration, tears poured down her pink cheeks faster than she could wipe them away.

"Just calm down Hermione"

"CALM DOWN?" she shrieked, and a window shattered for no apparent reason "YOU'VE BEEN CHEATING ON ME WITH THIS UTTER COW FOR GOD ONLY KNOWS HOW LONG AND YOU EXPECT ME TO '_CALM DOWN_'?"

Mark, Hermione's now Ex-boyfriend looked incredibly uncomfortable as he glanced over his shoulder at the bed, on which led the girl with whom he had been having an affair.

"AND YOU!" Hermione shrieked turning to the girl in the bed (Valerie) "YOU WERE MY FRIEND! I TRUSTED YOU...how long?" she asked suddenly, in an alarmingly cool voice "how long have you been carrying on behind my back?"

Neither made any signs of being about to answer so Hermione screamed "ANSWER ME!"

"11 Months" choked Mark as Hermione gasped (they had been together exactly 11 months and 3 weeks), but then he seemed to regain his composure "I still think that you're over reacting a little, Hermione"

Hermione waved her wand and a suitcase soared out of the cupboard and began to pack itself, even Valerie and Mark's wands were sent into there but they didn't notice because the lights in the house were flickering on and off as Hermione fought to control her fury.

"Are you leaving?" asked Mark, hesitantly as, behind him, the scattered items of clothing on the floor also flew into the suitcase.

"No" she said, swallowing hard and grabbing the bag as it zipped itself up "You are"

And she threw the bag out of the previously shattered window.

Mark looked infuriated "HERMIONE YOU'RE JUST BEING CHILDISH" he shouted but couldn't insult her any further as a vase, that he had bought her 6 months before, complete with flowers and water soared through the air and hit the wall where his head would have been if he hadn't ducked.

Before they could blink, Hermione had grabbed her jacket and stalked out of the house.

The Leaky Cauldron is partly famous for being frequented, especially on Friday nights, by miserable and/or angry people who all want to be 'left alone' in order to drink themselves into a stupor. This Friday night was no exception, for late April the weather was unnaturally cold and wet.

Cedric Diggory found himself sat on a bar stool by a dimly lit lamp, throwing back his fourth shot of firewhiskey when a young woman sat down next to him. She made no eye contact; her hair hid her face from view, though it was soaked and incredibly curly. Occasionally she hiccoughed and when she ordered a strong butterbeer she sounded as though she was suffering from a severe cold.

Something about her seemed incredibly familiar. She shrugged off her leather jacket before she took a drink and underneath she wore a scarlet roll-neck sweater and a knee length black skirt with knee-high suede boots.

He couldn't place her but he knew, even without seeing her face, that they had met before. It must have been at Hogwarts, and Slytherins never wore red, on principle, so she couldn't be one of them. If she had been a Hufflepuff, he would have known her straight away and he was fairly sure she hadn't been a Ravenclaw. That only left Griffindor.

He glanced round as she heaved a sigh over her tankard and pushed her hair back out of her eyes.

He hadn't seen her for nearly 5 years, her eyes were swollen and red and there were black streaks down her cheeks where her mascara had smudged. But, even so, there could be no mistaking her for anyone else.

"Granger?"


	2. Chapter 2: Drinking and Thinking

Chapter 2: Drinking and Thinking…

Hermione turned and knew immediately who it was "Cedric?" she asked incredulously; she couldn't believe that, even in her miserable state, she had failed to see him when she sat down.

"How is it that you know who I am straight away but it took me ages to place you?" He asked, his eyes a little unfocussed.

"Because you were a Hogwarts champion so everyone knows who you are, and besides we haven't seen each other in years. In fact the last time we saw each other I was covered in blood _and_ it probably doesn't help that you're a little tipsy."

That was right. He remembered now, they had been quite good friends before the final battle. They had gotten on well because he was a closet bookworm and both were studious and intelligent. They had been really good friends to the point where she was almost as close to him as she was to Harry and Ron. Cho hadn't liked that.

She had always been mistrustful of Hermione. As someone whose majority of friends were girls she couldn't understand how so many boys (He, Harry, the entire Weasley clan, everyone in Griffindor, most of the Ravenclaws and all of the Hufflepuffs) got on so well with Hermione and were so close to her and liked her so much without actually having a crush on her.

Hermione was special, no boy ever felt threatened by her, true, they rarely ever fancied her but most boys liked her, only Ginny Weasley and a few select other girls were allowed to be that close to any boys and that was only on certain occasions.

The last time he had seen her was just after the War was over and had been won.

FLASHBACK

_They had won. Cedric looked at the piles of bodies and felt weak and lost and as though the lump in his throat was so huge that he would suffocate._

_Needless to say it wasn't exactly the euphoric feeling he had been expecting. His eyes swept the Hogwarts Great Hall, looking to make sure that all of his loved ones were still alive, making a mental list. _

'_Family: Mum and Dad are there, ok Cho, she's crying over there too. Now, where are all my friends? No they're all there too. Potter's there and the Weasley's…Why do they all look so panicky?'_

_At that point his train of thought was interrupted by Harry tapping him on the shoulder. He looked alarmed, his glasses were lopsided and he was ashen-faced. Cedric glanced around the Hall, wiping his forehead and wincing as he touched the graze above his right eyebrow. All over the Hall members of the Order were looking suddenly worried apart from the two youngest Weasleys who were heading for the door._

_Harry's voice brought his attention sharply back again "Cedric, have you seen-"_

"_HERMIONE!" shouted Ron Weasley and his sister screamed and, if it was possible, even more colour drained from Harry's face._

_The entire Hall fell silent and everyone looked fearfully at the doors, Hermione appeared, swaying slightly, her arms round the shoulders of two other people. She had been injured and she was being supported back into the Hall by Neville Longbottom and Oliver Wood. Though she was conscious she looked pale and in pain._

_Her hair was damp with blood and it flowed from an open wound on her neck, down the front of her robes. Her face was bruised and battered and blood dribbled out of the side of her mouth._

_She swayed slightly as Madame Pompfrey made her way over and passed out soon after._

_He would always remember the, literally, hundreds of people (and other magical creatures) who flocked to see her in the hospital wing, concerned for her. The entire order, the Weasleys, almost the entire, past and present, student body of Hogwarts (even including some Slytherins), all of the teaching staff and several others whom he didn't even know all wanted to know that she was ok. So many people adored her and yet she couldn't or wouldn't see that she was anything special._

_He could rarely go to check up on her because Cho was still prone to jealousy. The day after the end of the war Madame Pompfrey was able to assure everyone that Hermione would be absolutely fine and she woke up the day after that._

_Cedric had already gone home; Cho insisted that, if Hermione was going to be fine, there was really no point in staying._

END FLASHBACK

"Yeah, I remember" he said "what happened to you?"

Hermione smiled slightly "Oh, it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be. Harry and Ron panicked because I fainted but that was just out of exhaustion. All, it was really was a few bruises and a cut on my neck" she pulled her hair to one side as she said this and showed the scar on the left side of her neck. It was only about as long as her little finger but was only about half an inch away from her jugular vein. He shuddered to think what it would have meant if the cut had been just slightly to the left.

"But there was blood coming out of your mouth" he said loudly as he tried to flag down the bartender.

Hermione shrugged "When I was hit by the curse that cut my neck I flew backwards and hit a tree. I just bruised my stomach slightly, but it made me bring up a little blood. I've had worse." she said dispassionately "So what's gone wrong in your life?"

The abrupt question made him look round at her sharply "What makes you say that?"

She laughed emotionlessly "Cedric, look around you, everyone here is drinking to forget something. You're no exception"

"What are you trying to forget?"

"I asked first."

"Cho left me because she fancies Harry"

Hermione snorted, with genuine laughter this time "Well, good luck to her. She'll never get him, he loves Ginny so much that he wouldn't look at anyone else if they sat on his lap and repeatedly poked him. You won't have any trouble"

"Now it's your turn" said Cedric, reaching for his 5th shot of firewhiskey.

"Oh, I'm here because I just caught my boyfriend, Mark, cheating on me with a girl I thought was one of my friends. They started going behind my back 3 weeks after he first asked me out." Hermione began to cry quietly and told him the whole story, while he patted her back reassuringly. He had to hide a laugh when she told him how she had left the house.

"You ought to go out with someone else as soon as you can, that will really bruise his ego" said Cedric

"Ah, but that would be using some one, and that's something I never want to do." Said Hermione swigging her butterbeer "Though it would be a good way for you to get Cho back, too. She never clings so tight as when she thinks she's not wanted."

Cedric stared into his empty glass.

"Hermione" he said suddenly, making her jump "I've got a proposition for you"

"What makes you think that I want to hear it?"

"Humour me" he smiled "what if we pretended that we were going out?"

"I'm sorry?"


	3. Chapter 3: more thinking

Chapter 3: thinking…

Chapter 3: thinking…

"Think about it Hermione" said Cedric blinking as he attempted to refocus his eyes "I mean, we wouldn't be 'using' anyone because we would have both agreed to it. You'd be able to make Mark regret it and I could have Cho back"

Hermione bit her lip in thought.

"And you'll get loads of attention from other men because there is never anything as attractive as the thing you can't have. I honestly think that-"

"Cedric" Hermione interrupted "you can't seriously be thinking about this, you're drunk. I don't think we should talk any more about this"

"Hermione I really think it could work, don't dismiss the idea straight away. At least think about it"

"Why?" It's obviously going to-"

Now it was Cedric's turn to interrupt "Just humour me, Hermione, at least think about it"

"Alright" Hermione sighed, smiling slightly and then giggled as he wobbled slightly on his bar stool "Now I think you ought to go home, you've drunk far too much and you've probably got practise in the morning."

She led him to a fire place and watched as he flooed himself home, trying to protest through a yawn, before she disapperated herself, paying the bartender for both of their drinks.

* * *

"So why didn't you agree?" Ginny demanded as Harry and Ron quickly bit into some toast to hide their laughter.

Hermione flushed and Padma giggled behind her hand "Because it's bound to backfire somehow" Hermione said feeling utterly exasperated.

"Hermione" said Padma condescendingly "He's Cedric Diggory, even if it did all go wrong who'd pass up a chance like _that_?"

Ron choked on his toast "You're _my_ wife" he said in a whiney voice

"I know" said Padma coolly, patting her large, pregnant stomach "but, if I wasn't, I certainly wouldn't say no to him – that's all I'm saying"

"Actually, neither would I" said Ginny

"Me neither" said Harry, they all looked at him and he snorted with laughter "I'm joking"

Hermione sighed "Don't you think he's a bit of a pretty boy, though?" Harry and Ron nodded furiously in agreement "I mean, he is very sweet but you have to admit that he is."

"Who cares?" sighed both Ginny and Padma wistfully

"Anyway" Hermione continued as though she hadn't heard them "I haven't necessarily said no yet, I said I'd think about it"

At that exact moment a pretty little barn owl soared into the room through the open window. It perched on Hermione's shoulder and dropped a small, folded piece of parchment into her lap.

Hermione opened it, already knowing who it was from:

"_Hermione,_

_The offer is still open, if you're interested_

_Cedric_

_P.S. I can assure you that I am completely sober._"

Hermione smiled and felt her cheeks begin to redden again and Ginny snatched the note from her, too curious to wait for Hermione to tell them what it contained.

Hermione looked uncomfortable and when Ginny had finished reading aloud she hid her face in her hands.

"So, what are you going to do?" said Ron, finally having finished his breakfast

"I don't know, I want to accept because I think it could _almost_ work but, on the other hand, I don't want to because I don't want to be constantly asked what someone like him sees in someone like me and I just know it's going to go wrong"

"What do you mean 'someone like you'?" asked Ginny, sounding a lot like Mrs Weasley and raising an eyebrow at Hermione.

"Well, I … Look; it's just that I …" Hermione fought to find the right words and gave up "I'm not you, or Parvati or Padma or Lavender or Cho"

"What difference does that make?"

"Well, when any of you walk down the street you get wolf whistles and complete strangers cross the road to talk to you."

"And?" Padma prompted, the baby was due in 2 months and hormones made her very impatient.

""When I walk down the street people either catcall at me or whisper behind their hands." Hermione mentally cursed the tears welling up in her eyes as she said this.

"Hermione" Ginny said softly, touching Hermione's shoulder gently, as the first tear fell "That's only because you're famous and also because you don't make the most of your looks"

"What looks?" said Hermione bitterly

Harry and Ron looked awkward; they plainly wanted to say something comforting but couldn't find the words. They both hugged her briefly and then sidled out of the room.

"Hermione, don't say that" murmured Padma "you've got a stunning figure, lovely eyes, a pretty, little, straight nose and your hair could be just as lovely if you used a potion on it. But I swear you try to hide all your many good points, it's like you're scared of people actually appreciating them"

Hermione didn't answer, staring straight down at her feet. Ginny and Padma exchanged a glance before leaping forward and seizing one of her arms each and dragging her back into her room.

Hermione then spent the better part of an hour being pulled and pushed and prodded and pinched in all directions. 3 bottles of a potion had to be rubbed furiously into her hair to force it permanently into sleek ringlets, mascara was applied around her eyes and then she was dragged back to her house so that her entire wardrobe could be transfigured. They both spent the entire time pointing out reasons why the deal was a good idea.

Meanwhile, in the main quidditch stadium in London, Cedric Diggory flew round the pitch at the end of practise with his team mate, Oliver Wood.

"You actually asked her that?" said Oliver incredulously as they flew low over a crowd of giggling girls without even glancing twice at them.

"Yeah" said Cedric, casually "and she hasn't said no yet."

"Ah, but she hasn't said yes either" Oliver grinned "Listen, I know she's very pretty and God knows she a fantastic girl but wouldn't Cho have been a bit more jealous if you'd chosen someone like Katie Bell?"

"You're missing the point, this way is better because you're not using anyone who doesn't already know about it so no one can get hurt. Besides, she's not just pretty, she's beautiful – not that I like her in that way, before you jump to any conclusions." Cedric explained defensively.

They completed their final circuit and were just about to land when Oliver suddenly stopped short and whispered "Oh my God"

Cedric followed his line of sight and saw Hermione, stood in the stands, waving up at them and looking slightly uncomfortable. She looked even more beautiful that ever, Cedric thought, just managing to hold onto his broom.

Her curls were blowing about her face in the cold wind, giving her a slightly windswept look, which made her look even more attractive.

She was wearing navy blue jeans, tucked into knee-length, high-heeled, suede boots and she wore a cream off the shoulder sweater. Cedric chuckled as one of the beaters wolf-whistled at her and she blushed.

If she'd come here to turn down his deal, it was going to be a lot more difficult to accept it, if she was going to keep appearing looking like that. He landed next to her as Oliver flew away sniggering.

"Have you made up your mind?" he asked casually, shouldering his broomstick.

She nodded and bit her lip nervously, hunching her shoulders as she shoved her hands deep into her pockets.

"My answer is yes" she said,

"Ok" he said, grinning at her crookedly "I have to get changed but we can talk in Fortesque's in half an hour ok?"

She nodded, her cheeks colouring very faintly again as she turned and walked back up the stairs in the stands.

Cedric turned back towards the changing rooms, feeling very elated.


	4. Chapter 4: odds and ends

Chapter 4: odds and ends…

When Cedric reached the café, Hermione was sat at a table by the window, watching people go past. She was stirring a cup of tea and occasionally glancing at her watch.

He sat down opposite her before anyone had a chance to recognise him and smiled when she jumped in surprise.

They ordered ice creams, he chose one with an enormously long name that Hermione had no hope of ever remembering, but she knew that it definitely contained nuts of some kind. She ordered a plain chocolate one with caramel sauce.

"So what made you agree?" he asked suddenly

"A talk with Harry, Ron, Ginny and Padma and then a makeover from Padma and Ginny" she tugged at one of the curls, looking a little unsure of herself.

"You never needed to do all that just to accept" Cedric said "not that I'm complaining" he added quickly "but you were always lovely without all this stu- oh bugger"

Hermione giggled, Cedric's habit of gesturing with his hands as he talked meant that some of his ice cream had dripped off the cone and into his lap.

"Here" she said, handing him a napkin with which to clean himself up and inwardly grinned at the fact that he was blushing.

They ate in silence for a while, each trying to think of something to say.

"You know, we're going to have to act like a couple all the time now" Hermione whispered, leaning over the table slightly "Cho has got connections all over the wizarding world so it has to be constantly as realistic as possible."

"I hadn't thought of that" Cedric whispered back, suddenly realising that this deal had the potential to make their friendship even more awkward than it already was.

They paid for their ice-creams and left.

As they strolled down Diagon Alley Hermione chatted animatedly about her job as a healer at St Mungo's and the many, many quidditch injuries she saw. Some of the stories she told were quite funny, like a man in the crowd who had been so in awe of the Bulgarian veelas that he had done literally the first thing he could think of to impress them. The act that had occurred to him immediately was to transfigure something into a potted plant, but, with his mind clouded in the way that it was, he had turned his wand on himself and had to be carried in by his furious girlfriend.

She paused in the middle of telling another story when she saw Rita Skeeter just outside Madame Malkin's shop, she hadn't seen them yet but was sure to soon. Cedric followed her line of sight and they both grinned.

"We have to have our photo taken together" Hermione whispered quickly and Cedric nodded.

Hermione wrapped her arm round Cedric's waist and he did the same to her. Just as Rita passed them and spotted them, Hermione kissed Cedric on the cheek, as though she didn't know that Rita was there. There was a camera flash and Hermione jumped away, pretending to be surprised.

"Oh, miss Granger" said Rita in a tone of unflattering incredulity.

"Rita, I hope you don't plan on publishing that photo" hissed Hermione furiously and Cedric was taken aback by how good she was at acting, he was almost starting to feel a little scared by her anger. He fought hard not to look surprised or confused by the fact that she seemed to be prepared to fight tooth-and-nail to keep that photo from appearing in the papers, though she had just said that they needed it to be published. "I think you've interfered in my love life far too many times as it is, so why don't you just _buzz_ off?"

Rita stalked away, muttering something about irritating little children.

"Do you think we pulled it off?" said Hermione worriedly

"I thought you wanted her to publish the photo" said Cedric feeling really quite perplexed.

"I do" muttered Hermione "And there is no better way of making sure that she does than by telling her not to"

They walked on a little further before Hermione announced that she should probably get home before it got too dark.

"Will you go to see a quidditch game with me on Wednesday afternoon?" Cedric asked, feeling unexplainably nervous.

"What time?"

"I think it starts at about 8, I've got tickets and you can bring Harry and Ron and Ginny and Padma too, if you want"

"Alright then, I'll go"

"I'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks"

"Alright" Hermione agreed, feeling tongue-tied "Well, goodnight, Cedric" she hugged him.

"Goodnight" he replied and kissed her forehead, at which point she had to leave before the urge to jump up and down and squeal overcame her.

Wednesday took forever to arrive, in Hermione's opinion, but, when it finally did, she was insanely nervous.

The sun had finally decided to show itself so Hermione had to rummage through what was left of her wardrobe to find something that would be suitable, she finally settled on cropped jeans and a bottle green blouse, the colour that would show that she was supporting the Irish team again against the Swedish.

When she met Cedric, he kissed her, on the lips for the first time, it was only brief but it made her heart flutter. She cursed Ginny and Padma for standing by them and giggling as her face turned an interesting shade of beetroot.

When they actually got to the pitch, it was even harder not to blush; they had to hold hands constantly, just in case they were being watched.

Hermione sat down in her seat next to Cedric and they waited for the match to start. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and he slid his arm round her waist. Ginny giggled and nudged Harry who grinned and then jumped as Hermione shrieked in surprise. Cedric had, without any warning at all, lifted her onto his lap. Hermione immediately began to protest

"I'm far too heavy, I'll squash you" she mumbled, frantically searching for any plausible excuse to move because she could already feel her face heating up. However her brain had chosen to leave her at that particular moment because an amazingly large part of it really wanted to stay where she was.

"It's fine, and you're not heavy at all" He grinned at her and her heart fluttered again, she made a mental note to see someone about the fact that her pulse seemed to be becoming irregular. She wriggled a little to get comfortable and Cedric's posture suddenly became very stiff and he added "You're going to have to stop fidgeting, though"

Harry and Ron snorted loudly into their drinks.

When the match was over (Ireland won 320-240) Ginny dragged Hermione to one side

"What was that all about?" she asked and Padma noticeably leant nearer to them to listen to their conversation

"What?" asked Hermione, confused

"If I didn't know better I'd think the two of you were in love" Ginny whispered

"Don't be silly, Ginny. We're just acting!" said Hermione, looking visibly shaken.

"Right" said Ginny a voice which plainly said that she didn't believe a word...


	5. Chapter 5: Shopping

Chapter 5: shopping…

Cedric was lounging around in his sitting room almost a week after the match, the weather seemed to have realised that, as it was nearly the end of may by now, it probably should begin to rain less. There was a tapping noise at the window and, when he sat up and looked, he saw that it was a little brown spotted owl with a scrap of parchment in its beak.

It said:

'_Hey Cedric,_

_I am going to Diagon Alley to do a bit of shopping and just wondered whether you want to come too?_

_Write back soon _

_Love Hermione x_

_P.S. Cho is going to be working in Madame Malkin's today_'

Of course he immediately wrote a reply informing her that he'd love to go shopping with her and that he would meet her in the leaky cauldron.

"I need a cocktail dress" she told him casually, "St Mungo's is holding a charity thing in a few months and I have to go"

They bought all the things she normally bought in Diagon alley first; Hermione seemed to want to put off looking for a dress for as long as she possibly could. Suddenly she squeaked and ran to the nearest shop window, pressing her face against the glass as she admired the lovely dress behind it. It looked like it had been based on a toga; it was white and knee-length with only one strap, which was gold. Hermione would look breath-taking in it.

He didn't notice that Hermione had frozen in front of the window, staring over her reflection's shoulder. Cho was walking towards them. She swallowed hard, trying not to feel disappointed that they had possibly reached the end of their 'relationship' already and quickly turned to Cedric, careful not to glance in Cho's direction.

"I think I'm going to get that one, do you mind waiting outside for a minute?" Cedric assured her that he wouldn't.

She leaned up and whispered in his ear in a very seductive voice, to anyone else it would look like she was saying something very suggestive. What she actually said was this "Don't look now but Cho's coming this way. I'll be back in a minute. If you need me to pretend to be jealous and to very dramatically and publically break-up with you just wink subtly when I come back out"

Then she kissed him lovingly and stepped inside the shop. It took him a while to regain full use of his mental faculties; thankfully, he was able to bring a reasonable amount of blood back up to his head before Cho finally reached him. She looked a bit shocked.

"Have you had any success with Harry yet?" Cedric asked casually, suddenly realising that he appeared to be wearing most of Hermione's pale pink lipstick.

"No" she said "He hasn't replied to any of my letters. But, never mind, it's only a matter of time."

Cedric barely had time to wonder why he didn't feel jealous that she hadn't come running back to him yet before Hermione re-emerged from the shop carrying a huge bag.

"Ready to go, then?" she said, a little breathlessly

Cho's expression darkened "You're going out with _her_?" she said incredulously

Hermione looked annoyed "I am still here" she said loudly

"I know _that_" spat Cho, as though she was talking to someone of inferior intellect, though this could not be farther from the truth. "It seems you like to go after men who'll get you some attention, don't you?"

Hermione looked furious; Cedric merely looked on, as the tension built, in utter astonishment. He had always known that Cho disliked Hermione but he never thought that she hated Hermione enough to hit her with such a low blow.

Cho continued "First Krum and then Harry and then-"

"HARRY AND I NEVER DATED" Hermione almost screamed in frustration "We were _just friends_. But that just proves that, if either of us is an attention-seeker, it's you! Harry and I have been like brother and sister for years but you are such a drama queen that you can't ever be really happy unless people have got a reason to pity you."

Cho looked gobsmacked and opened her mouth to say something but Hermione carried on "You go through life, constantly looking for something that will either earn you sympathy or attention. You're constantly dumping people, friends and boyfriends alike, to move on to something that you think is better but here's a piece of advice from me to you. I'd watch how you treat people, if I were you, because, in a few years, there will be NO. ONE. LEFT."

Cho didn't seem to know what to say but settled for "annoying little bookworm!"

To which Hermione merely said sarcastically "Well done Cho. Very original" and she stalked off down the street. Cedric followed after her, believing that he probably ought to want to go and comfort Cho but instead; here he was following Hermione into the 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' shop.

The second Hermione stepped through the door she was engulfed in a hug by the twins. Hermione missed their hugs; she didn't get to see them often anymore and she needed a hug at the moment because (though she wasn't sure why) she was a little hurt that Cedric hadn't stood up for her. He was sure to be making up with Cho at the moment though – that thought made her feel even worse.

"It's our favourite girl!" exclaimed George loudly several girls in the shop muttered jealously and Cedric couldn't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy of the twins when he saw Hermione talking animatedly to George now that she was free from the hug.

"And here's the lucky guy who won her over!" said Fred, seeing Cedric (thanks to the Rita Skeeter photo, which had, as Hermione predicted, been printed in the Daily Prophet, almost everyone seemed to know that they were 'dating')

Hermione looked round in surprise, Cedric was supposed to have stayed with Cho, not followed _her_!

Cedric began a conversation with Fred about their new line of quidditch-related products while George and Hermione continued their previous conversation. When the conversation lulled slightly Fred glanced across to Hermione and George. Cedric followed his line of sight and felt another unexplainable stab of jealousy when he saw George and Hermione talking quietly, their heads close together.

"Take care of her" said Fred quietly "You don't get many girls like that in this world. She's special."

Cedric wondered briefly if Fred and/or George had a soft spot for her. He glanced at her again, just in time to see throw her head back in laughter at something George had said and he had to agree with Fred. Hermione was special.


	6. Chapter 6: Flying and Sighing

Chapter 6: sighing and flying…

Harry and Ginny were holding an engagement party at their house and all of the Weasleys, most of the Order and Cedric and Hermione had been invited.

Hermione arrived and found Cedric quickly.

"Hi" she said distractedly, giving him a peck on the cheek "How are you?"

He raised an eyebrow at her slightly; she looked as though she had walked there swiftly in a high wind, her hair was in a ponytail that was falling out a little and she was out of breath and flushed.

"Oh" she said, panting a little "Crookshanks attached himself to the light in my bedroom and wouldn't come down again, it took me forever to get him down and then I realised that I was really late." She tried to tighten the ponytail and then yanked the band out in frustration "oh sod it" she muttered and shook her hair out.

A low wolf whistle came from her right and she whipped round to see Seamus Finnegan standing there, he winked at her over his drink and she smiled at him. Cedric's arm tightened possessively around her waist. She decided possessiveness could be quite exciting in small doses.

"I'm just going to get some food" she said, making her way over to the table.

Cedric's arm was immediately snatched by Lavender Brown who dragged him into a corner, talking a mile a minute, fluttering her eyelashes and giggled inanely at every bewildered word that he said.

Hermione, meanwhile, was fuming. She had only been gone a few seconds but by the time she looked back he was conversing in a dark corner with Lavender Brown.

"Hi Hermione" exclaimed Ginny, hugging her "I'm so glad you could come!" Then she saw Cedric "He's not very good at this whole pretending thing, is he?"

"No" said Hermione through gritted teeth, telling herself over and over that she was only angry because he was going to ruin all their hard work if he talked to Lavender much longer. At that moment, Lavender looked past Cedric and cast Hermione a wicked grin. Hermione blinked rapidly to try to rid her eyes of the angry tears which were building up and swallowed. "And I'm not much good at it either" she added, lifting her chin and stalking right past Cedric and Lavender to talk to Seamus.

She was only there for a few minutes before she felt a hand on her arm and Cedric pulled her away, his expression irate and resentful. He pulled her through a door and shut it behind them. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness she realised that they were stood in the cupboard under the stairs.

"What are you doing?" he hissed

"What are you talking about?" she hissed back, just as angry as him

"Flirting with Finnegan" He said

Hermione snapped "Well, you're a hypocrite aren't you? Didn't you notice Lavender falling all over you?"

His eyebrows knitted together "No" he said, sounding surprised, Hermione seized her chance.

"What do you care, anyway? None of this is real, is it? It's only pretend. I don't know why you're acting as if you really care about me that much, because it's obvious that you don't and-"

She was unable to continue her rant because Cedric kissed her. She instantly forgot all of her previous argument and couldn't be sure just why she had been so angry, although it did occur to her that he seemed to have a talent for stopping her mid-rant.

"What were you saying?" asked Cedric, grinning and looking a little dazed, Hermione just kissed him again.

When they re-emerged from the cupboard a few minutes later Ginny was walking past. She took in their slightly tousled appearance and instantly assumed that something more had happened than just kissing. She winked at Hermione and muttered something that sounded a lot like "I taught her well"

Cedric laughed but Hermione just blushed and hid her face in her hands, turning into Cedric's chest.

When everyone had left apart from the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Cedric the boys decided to play an impromptu quidditch match. Ginny was forced to join in, in order to make up numbers. Not that she really minded. Hermione and Padma led on the grass talking.

"So" said Padma "How are things going with Cedric?" They both glanced upwards at the 8 figures flying around (Percy didn't want to join in) Cedric glanced down and saw them. He winked at Hermione and she looked away, her face instantly flaming.

"It's been good" she said, trying not to give anything away.

"'av you slept weeth heem yet?" asked a silky voice from behind them

"No I haven't" said Hermione, wishing that the ground would just swallow her.

"Well, you should 'urry up. Or you will lose him" Fleur continued before she glided away again.

"Stupid stuck-up Cow!" snarled Padma, reminding Hermione just why she liked Padma so much. But Fleur's words stuck in her mind 'Or you will lose him', it struck her that she would lose him whatever she did 'Or you will lose him' as soon as Cho showed enough interest in him he would walk out of her life all over again. She couldn't explain why but the thought made her throat feel constricted and gave her a dull, empty ache in her stomach.

She would be alone again. She swallowed hard, she would just have to enjoy the time they had left. However short that might be.

The match didn't last long before everyone began to just drift on their brooms.

"I have always wished that I could fly" Hermione muttered to Padma, sitting up "but I'm afraid of heights"

"I suppose that could have made it a little problematic" said a voice, by her right ear.

Cedric was hovering just a couple of feet from the ground right next to her. "But don't worry I'll teach you"

She stood up and began to edge away, looking terrified "Oh, no, no way!" but he had darted forward and swiftly pulled her onto his broom before she was even able to turn and run.

They soared up in the air, Hermione sat sideways in front of Cedric, her eyes screwed up, teeth clenched and her knuckles white on the handle. This shocked Cedric; Hermione never let herself appear to be scared, even when she was absolutely terrified she hid it so well that she merely looked a little worried. To see her so obviously petrified was nothing short of alarming

"Hermione" he murmured "it's alright, I won't let you fall, you can open your eyes"

Grudgingly she did open them and her knuckles whitened even more around the handle. Cedric curled an arm around her waist and kissed her "relax" he said and she did.

She actually found herself enjoying the flight and shrieked with laughter when they suddenly dived. They were watched from the ground by Bill, Charlie, Percy, Ron, Ginny, Harry and the twins.

Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances; their relationship seemed to be becoming a little too real, real enough that someone was in danger of being hurt.

"I think it's time he was given 'the talk'" said Charlie to Bill, squinting up at the couple.

"Eeeewww!" said Ginny

"Look" said Fred "I think he's a bit old to be getting _the talk_ and, frankly, if his parents haven't explained that stuff to him yet he's a lost cause"

Percy went very red and Ron looked as though he wanted the ground to swallow him up. Harry was doubled over with laughter.

"Not that talk" said George grinning "the protective older brother, we'll-hunt-you-down-if-you-hurt-her talk"

"Because we do it so well" Bill Grinned at Harry, who stopped laughing and nodded fervently.

"They haven't actually threatened you have they?" asked Ginny then she saw Harry's face and laughed "they wouldn't hurt a fly, much less the fly that I'm going to marry, _right_?"

When they landed it was to see the Weasley brothers cowering in front of their little sister. They caught odd words such as 'talk', 'threaten' and 'hurt'.

"Oh God" Hermione grinned "Run, Cedric or you'll get the big speech about hurting me. It's never made any difference before but they just don't seem to learn."

Cedric just laughed "Seriously," Hermione tried to looked sombre "run while you've got the cha- oh dear they've seen you. Well you won't escape now but I can at least make it worth your while" she gave Cedric what he could honestly call the most amazing kiss he had ever had. Then she walked over to Padma and Ginny leaving him looking dazed.

"He's yours, you know" said Ginny, fighting back a squeal "he'll never leave you after a kiss like that. Everyone's a little startled that you'd kiss like that in public"

Hermione smiled too (watching Cedric looking only a little intimidated by the many threats being thrown at him by the Weasleys) but she could still hear at the back of her mind Fleur's voice 'you will lose him'.


	7. Chapter 7: fighting

Chapter 7: Starting a fight and making everything right…

Hermione was early, she always was, it was her trademark. In the same way that Cedric was always a couple of minutes late. She sat at the table, feeling angry, today had not been her day. Her boss had shouted at her because she had paused to have a conversation with a patient. She couldn't see what she had done wrong, she had no other patients to see to and that patient had wanted someone to talk to. But apparently that had been wrong, her boss had found her during her lunch break and had loudly informed her of that in the middle of the hospital canteen. To top it all she had worn a stupid sun dress today but, because it was a typical English summer the first drops of rain were beginning to hit the window.

Needless to say, Hermione wasn't in the best of moods, it wasn't helped when she saw Valerie in a restaurant down the street.

When Cedric turned up, he was feeling fairly irritable too. He had the worst migraine he had ever had and he had been waylaid after practise by a woman who insisted that she needed 37 signed photos. Normally his mood always improved when he saw Hermione, but at present she was unknowinglybeing eyed by no less than 4 men in the same restaurant. She did look lovely in a pale pink sun dress and sandals but Cedric could feel himself slipping further into his black mood.

"You're late" she said, shortly, she didn't mean to take out her mood on him and instantly opened her mouth to apologise but he cut across her.

"Well, I'm sure you at least enjoyed yourself, flirting with everything in trousers"

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me"

"I don't flirt. AT ALL."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really, for a start I don't know how to. And anyway you're a filthy hypocrite; you're always flirting with those stupid airheads who follow you around as though you're some sort of God."

"Well, at least they live life once in a while"

"And what is that supposed to mean, exactly?"

"It means that they take their noses out of a book every once in a while"

"What is wrong with you? When I knew you before you always used to be so nice and now you are constantly moody. I haven't done anything wrong and you're being so horrible"

"_You_ haven't done anything wrong; you're the one who flirts with every man you know"

"Stop being so overly dramatic. They're _just friends_"

"Yeah, right"

Their heads had been close together, they were whispering fiercely. To a bystander it would have looked as though they were just talking about something very private. But, if you looked very closely you could see that Cedric was clenching his jaw and Hermione was shaking with indignation. An apprehensive waitress made her way over to the table

"Are you ready to order?" She squeaked

"No" said Hermione "I've changed my mind. We're finished." Cedric had the sense that she was talking about more than just the meal and suddenly felt awful.

She stood up to leave blinking hastily and said in his ear "Valerie, the girl that Mark cheated on me with just walked past, but I don't think Icare about making him jealous anymore because I've just realised that all men are justthe same."

And she was gone.

He immediately felt incredibly cruel and left to make it up to her, except he didn't know where to find her. The rain fell in torrents and he hunched his shoulders as he stepped out into the street. He hoped to God that she hadn't gone to Grimmauld Place or the Burrow, he remembered the speech he had been given by the Weasley's and Harry if her hurt Hermione. Most of them had involved sharp kitchen implements being inserted into his body in some rather unorthodox ways. Actually George hadused aparticularly creative threat, involving being force fedcrates ofskiving snackboxes before being finished of with a hot poker.

He apparated straight to her house, the door was locked but heused the 'alohomora' charm and it opened quite easily. He made a mental note to ask her whether her house had any protective charms on it at all. But now was not the time.

"Hermione?" He called, but there was no answer. Her jacket laid on the floor of the kitchen, as though it had been thrown off in a great hurry and her sandals were lead in the middle of the hallway floor. That wasn't right. Hermione was never untidy, even when she was miserable she tidied things up. What if something had happened to her?

His stomach fell intohis shoesbut then he heard therain. That wasn't right either because he had closed the front door, unless her roof was leaking he shouldn't beable to hear the rain that clearly. He made his way to the back door and what he saw in the garden made him feel so guilt-ridden that he almost felt physically sick.

From a tree at the far end hung a wooden swing, she was sat on this, her shoulders shaking with hersobs. The rain had soaked her through and the dress and her hair were dripping steadily.

He ran to her.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry"

"No, I'm sorry" She hiccoughed "I was so horrid to you and … and" but she couldn't finish the sentence. He hugged her tightly as she wept. Eventually she stopped crying and chuckled slightly

"What?" asked Cedric

"I've just realised, we've had our first fight"

Cedric had to join in her laughter, though he couldn't understand just why she found that quite so funny.

A faint peeping noise came from overhead and a letter fell into Hermione's lap.

She opened it, read it quickly and gasped.

"We have to go" she said "Padma's in labour"

Cedric had been enjoying the hugging "Do we have to go just yet?"

"Well, yes" called Hermione, running back towards the house "I'm her midwife"

In what _seemed_ like no time at all Cedric was sat in Ron Weasley's living room with Ron and Harry and Ginny. All 4 of them looked a little anxious; they had been there for nearlyages.

The door swung open quietly and Hermione entered the room, carrying a small bundle of blankets a baby girl was wrapped in them, fast asleep, a tiny pink fist gripping one of Hermione's fingers. Hermione looked beautiful and, in the few seconds before the baby was handed to Ron, Cedric thought that she may have been one of the few people who was born to be a mother.


	8. Chapter 8: Drama

Chapter 8: Drama…

Baby Amy (Ron's daughter) was the star attraction at the picnic in the garden of the Burrow the next weekend and both her parents glowed with pride. Ron wouldn't let her out of his sight and always kept one eye on her when anyone else was holding her apart from Mrs Weasley and Hermione. They were the only ones considered to have enough experience to be trusted, Hermione couldn't be happier. When she wasn't holding the baby, little 2-year-old Victoire (Bill's daughter) sat on her lap, playing with Hermione's curly hair. Though, as a midwife, she had babies to make a fuss of all day long she never passed up the opportunity to cuddle one. Fred, who had been watching her holding Amy with amusement for a while, suddenly grinned

"Hermione what do you do if you have to make a fuss of an ugly baby?" everyone laughed and waited for her response

"There's no such thing" Hermione replied, not glancing up from the beautiful baby in her arms "Is there?" she cooed to Amy.

Eventually she passed the baby to Cedric who, being an only child, had no experience with babies and held little Amy hesitantly.

"Relax" Hermione smiled "She won't bite…well, not for a few years anyway"

He did relax slightly and an impossibly tiny hand rested on his shirt splayed like a pink starfish before it grasped his shirt and held on tight. Amy looked up at him, her blue eyes wide open and slightly unfocused, her minute tongue poking out of her mouth slightly.

"See you're a natural" Hermione whispered as he heard several "aaaawwwwww"'s coming from behind him he decided that he would quite like to be a father someday. It wasn't long before Ginny swooped down and took the baby from him proclaiming loudly that she 'wanted one', Harry grinned.

"Me too" Hermione sighed, without thinking, sliding back into Cedric's lap.

"No pressure, though, mate" said George clapping him on the back Hermione turned scarlet and she turned and buried her face in Cedric's chest, he wrapped his arms around her. At the same time as Hermione was thinking how much she would miss his hugs when it all came to an end, Cedric was contemplating the fact that Hermione would have children someday but the thought of someone else being their father made him feel slightly nauseous. He wasn't quite sure why. (A/N I know they are both being ludicrously dense but certain things need to happen before they can end up together, so no reviews complaining please!!!)

The twins started a game of tag and tagged Hermione who immediately stood up and pounced on Harry who ran towards Cedric, his glasses lopsided. Cedric joined in the game. They played like that for ages, Hermione's sides hurt, she hadn't laughed that much in ages. It was so much fun to pretend they were children again, even if it was only for a little while. All of them had had to grow up far too fast and it was good for them to behave like children once in a while.

Cedric was 'it' again and ran after Hermione who shrieked with laughter and began to run away but stumbled. She fell onto the ground with a thump and Cedric tripped over her ankle. He landed on his front, narrowly avoiding squashing her and everyone doubled over with laughter. Until, that is, the twins brought out their wands and started using water charms on everyone. Hermione was soaked, her long denim shorts far darker than usual and her butter yellow halter-neck top clung to her and shone with water. No one really complained, though because the weather was so blisteringly hot. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. Charlie had stopped laughing, as had the twins and Harry and they were all staring at a figure walking down the garden from the house. Gradually everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards the man, glaring at him.

Hermione stiffened slightly as he made his way over. "What are you doing here?" snarled Bill, Charlie appeared, slightly behind Bill, the muscles in his arms tense. The twins had stood up, both clenching their wands, knuckles white.

"I came to see Hermione" the man said in a rather high-pitched voice as he eyes the fairly strong arms of Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Harry. He even looked warily at Cedric and cowered away from the glares of Padma, Ginny, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Percy and Victoire.

"You have no business here, Mark" Harry spat. Cedric's eyes widened, so this was Mark. He looked at Hermione, she was frozen and pale, he had never seen her look so tense, she didn't seem to be breathing.

"You Bastard" Padma hissed

Ginny glared

"Why don't you just bugger off?" Ron growled, for once Mrs Weasley didn't tell him off for using foul language around the children.

"It's alright" said Hermione's voice "I can handle this, we'll talk in the kitchen" her steely tone as she regarded Mark made several of them shudder.

She gave Cedric's hand a slight squeeze before she went. Cedric followed Ginny, Padma, Harry, Ron and the twins and they all crouched below the half-open kitchen window to listen.

"Why are you here?" asked Hermione icily

"I came to say sorry"

"Ok, well you've said it and now you can go"

'That's our girl' mouthed Fred to George

"I've broken up with Valerie"

"What a shame" she said sarcastically

"She said that you were going out with that Diggory bloke"

"And?"

"Well I thought that maybe we could-"

"No, I wouldn't go out with you again if it was a choice between you and the giant squid. You had your chance and you blew it so get out."

There was a pause then Mark said

"So you are going out with him?"

"Yes I am what's it to you?"

"Well, it didn't take you very long to move on did it?"

"Excuse me?" The chilling tone she used no was far more frightening than if she had shouted.

"What made you go out with that complete ponce anyway?" There was a short pause in which there was a sharp intake of air from Mark and then there was a loud smacking noise at the same time as a crunch.

They all burst into the kitchen to see Mark holding a tooth which he had just spat out and recoiling slightly. Hermione's back was to them but her right fist was raised and her knuckles were slightly pink.

"Don't you dare insult him; he is 4 times the man you will ever be. Don't get in contact with me again because I'm not interested. You are an arrogant, two-timing _little_ git" she emphasised the word 'little' so that everyone was sure it had a double meaning and Fred and George snorted despite their anger. "Now get out"

Mark gurgled a word that sounded an awful lot like the word 'bitch' and Cedric had broken his nose before any of the others even had the chance to step forward.

Hermione kissed him quickly and then disappeared outside laughing, they were all a little surprised at her ability to be so happy again after what had happened but she explained that she wasn't going to let someone like him spoil what had been a brilliant afternoon.

She never let go of Cedric's hand, though, and, while she knew she was perfectly capable of defending herself if she needed to, she couldn't help the tiny voice in the back of her head that compared Cedric to a knight in shining armour from one of her old fairytale books when he had 'defended her honour' like that.


	9. Chapter 9: It's over

Chapter 9: It's over…

Cedric soared above the crowd, feeling a huge sense of euphoria every time they cheered but he was looking for one face in particular. Hermione was there, wearing a bright red Puddlemere United scarf and cheering his team on. He winked at her and she blushed and laughed. He turned and shot off towards the other end of the pitch.

In the stands, at that moment, Cho had found Hermione, scowling as Harry said something to her and she laughed.

"Hello, Hermione" she said in a tone that stated plainly that she was not happy

"Oh hello, Cho"

"I need to talk to you about Cedric"

Hermione stiffened a little "Why?"

Cho sneered at her "Well, the thing is, I've decided that I want him back so, really, you need to back off"

Hermione glared at her "And why would I do that? He genuinely likes me and I like him too so just why should I 'back off'?"

Cho flicked her hair over her shoulder, several men nearby turned to gape at her, and she laughed mirthlessly "Well, look at you" she said, gesturing to Hermione's hair and then her clothes "Once he knows I'm interested again you'll stand no chance. I'm just warning you as a friend, you understand."

Ginny gasped and Hermione's throat suddenly felt tight "Look," she said "I honestly don't care what you think and no one actually wants you here so why don't you just leave before you embarrass yourself"

Cho obviously couldn't think of a response and left soon after that.

Hermione's eyes returned to the air and she determinedly looked nowhere else so that it was less likely that anyone would see that the area around her eyes was a little damp.

Up in the air Cedric had seen the conversation but couldn't have heard it. He was still wondering what it could have been about when he heard a horrified shout from the goal posts. Oliver was waving madly at him, obviously trying to tell him something, he guessed it was something to do with a bludger.

He felt the bludger before he saw it, it smashed into his ribs with such force that he was thrown from his broom. There were moans and gasps from the crowds and even a few shrieks but above all he heard a scream.

The scream had left Hermione's mouth before she could stop it. She had seen the bludger hit him and felt sick. Her stomach had flipped over, it was one of those feelings people sometimes have when they lose someone that they really love, it's like the feeling you get when you miss a step going down the stairs. Or, when you fall, it's the feeling you get in the instant before you hit the ground. The air is sucked out of your lungs and every muscle tenses, preparing you for when you hit the floor.

The scream had ripped from her throat in that moment and suddenly everything seemed to slow down. She didn't know that it had been her screaming but she knew that it sounded horrible; in fact several people in the stands would wake up from nightmares in the next few years, shaking and sweating with that scream ringing in their ears. She didn't reach for her wand, she didn't have time, but she flung her right hand outwards and a kind of translucent, pale blue flame seemed to leave her palm. It wrapped itself around Cedric and formed a kind of parachute so that he slowed down mid-fall and hit the ground gently, unconscious.

Cedric had passed out shortly after hearing the scream so, when he woke up in St Mungo's; he had no memory of being saved by Hermione. She was there, though, her face tear-stained and her eyes blood-shot.

"Did we win?" he croaked, she laughed shakily

"Yes" she smiled "the other team got the snitch but the chasers scored 34 more times before then so it's ok, you can relax"

There was a pause and then…

"I'm so glad you're ok!" she exclaimed happily, wrapping him in a hug

"Yeah!" he grinned "how?"

"The medi-wizards are great at what they do" she smiled but her eyes were hiding something but, before he could ask her about it, she said "do you fancy a coffee? Now you've woken up, I think I'll go and get one"

"Yeah, a coffee would be nice" he said and smiled

"I'll be back in a minute" she kissed his forehead "make sure you get your rest, they'll let you go home tomorrow"

Then she was gone. He shut his eyes and tried to get back to sleep but the door slid open again and Cho poked her head round the door, she had been crying to but, for some reason, instead of feeling sorry for her he just felt annoyed.

"Hey" she said "I need to talk to you"

"Why?" he asked, yawning

"I have been so silly!" she gushed "and I want us to get back together"

"Cho, I don't-"

"Know what to say? I know, it will be so great!" and she launched herself towards him and kissed him. The door swung open and Cedric heard someone say

"Oh" Hermione was stood in the doorway, holding 2 mugs of coffee looking dejected; Cho didn't loosen her hold around his neck.

"Hermione, I don't kno-" Cedric began to explain but she shook her head, she put the mugs down on the table and looked at both of them. She just looked weary, a tear escaped one of her eyes and fell to the floor, she seemed too upset to even think about being angry and, where Hermione was concerned, that was deeply unsettling. "I hope you'll be very happy" her voice broke, half way through the word 'happy' and another tear fell, her face crumpled and she left quickly.

Cedric felt awful, he wanted to go after her and explain but he couldn't get up. Then he remembered how good she had always been at acting, she didn't really care about him at all. A miniscule part of him told him that he was stupid to believe this but it was so small that he didn't pay much attention to it.


	10. Chapter 10: Moving on

Chapter 10: moving on…or not

Ginny practically beat down the door of Hermione's house to see her; Hermione just didn't answer the door. It had been 4 days since the fiasco at St Mungo's and she hadn't come to see any of them. When Ginny burst into the sitting room she was taken aback by what she saw. She had expected to see Hermione asleep on the sofa in her dressing gown, having cried herself to sleep, surrounded by used tissues. Instead what she saw was this.

The muggle TV was on, an advert was playing, claiming that everyone should buy blinds for their conservatory; Hermione was dressed in jeans, thick socks and a grey woollen sweater. She was sat on the sofa, her feet up, staring blankly at the screen. Ginny looked at her face, her hair was tousled and she looked pale, fragile and drained, her eyes were dry but she obviously hadn't bothered to take any care of herself. She looked as though she hadn't slept in ages she looked as though she had just given up. She barely seemed to notice that Ginny was there. It was just plain disconcerting to see Hermione like this, it was just wrong.

"Oh Hermione" Ginny sighed "You can't sit around here like this"

"I really liked him Ginny" Hermione whispered, her eyes not moving from the screen

"I know" Ginny sighed, hugging her "But you've got to move on, he seemed nice but he was an idiot, there are plenty of better men out there." Secretly she didn't dislike Cedric, he and Hermione had seemed so completely perfect for each other. She didn't believe that he liked Cho anymore either, he had probably just been a little overwhelmed by her, and he quite probably just hadn't realized what was blatantly obvious; she just had to show him how completely blind he had been. Then she had an idea "Hermione, you know the best way to move on is to relive everything and then just let it go"

With some gentle persuasion Hermione turned the TV off and pulled her pensieve out of the cupboard. She placed it on the table in front of them; unbeknownst to her Ginny had hidden several small jars (which she had craftily stolen and shrunk from Hermione's recycling bin) under the table that she planned to subtly capture all of Hermione's memories in, and even a few of her own.

Hermione sat down and closed her eyes, Ginny turned to watch the pensive with the same fascination that most muggles watch the TV. Memory after memory rose out of the pensieve, all rising and expanding, replaying a mini-version of the memory. They were only brief snatches and Ginny hadn't even known that some of them existed; one of them went all the way back to Hermione's first year, when it had finished playing each memory appeared to fade. What had really happened was that, when Ginny sensed that it may be drawing to a close, she raised her wand slightly (it was hidden up her sleeve) and dragged each memory into a vial which she quickly sealed.

She had been so wrapped up in doing this that she hadn't seen Hermione's face. Silent tears poured from her eyes and she trembled. Ginny bottled the last memory and turned

"There" she said "all done and now- oh Hermione, I'm so sorry" she had almost reached Hermione to give her a hug when the twins burst in, quickly followed by Harry, Ron and Padma. And then there was a flurry of movement, all of them tried to hug her at once. Then they all tried to decide on different jobs. Padma bustled around the flat, having set Amy down on a playmat on the floor, Ron shuffled awkwardly off to the kitchen, mumbling about making a 'cup of tea' and Ginny briefed both the twins and Harry in turn about her plan as she slipped a few memories of her own into vial. Harry left to owl Oliver Wood and Cedric, asking Cedric to make sure that he was at the ministry ball.

Fred hugged her tightly and she cried into his shoulder, dry choking sobs that shook her entire body. George rubbed her back soothingly. At one point Harry mentioned being able to move on but she shook her head violently and croaked that she thought she loved Cedric.

Ron re-emerged from the kitchen holding a steaming mug of tea which Hermione took hiccoughing. "Thank you" she said sniffing slightly "You've all been so" – sniff- "nice to me" – gulp – "what have I done" – sob – "to deserve such amazing" – hiccough - "friends?"

"You've been Hermione Granger" grinned Harry

"And that's more than enough" said Padma, Hermione blinked and burst into tears again.

"Hermione?" asked Ron, touching her shoulder; everyone drew in a breath- Ron wasn't known for his sensitivity "Would it cheer you up if you looked after Amy for a bit?" Hermione blinked again and then laughed, everyone let out the breath they had been holding.

Hermione spent most of the afternoon making a fuss of Amy who loved all the attention while Ginny watched her worriedly, when Amy had fallen asleep Ginny approached her cautiously. She still felt guilty for not noticing Hermione's tears earlier.

"Hermione?" her voice was hesitant

"Yes?"

"Are you still going to the ministry ball the week after next?"

"I'm not sure, I mean, Cedric and…and…and _her_ will be there…I'm not sure if I can stand seeing them together"

"But it will be the perfect opportunity to show him what he's missing and to show _her_ just why he chose you in the first place"

They avoided using Cho's name as though it was some kind of curse, partly because it made her seem less human and partly because Hermione felt a bit sick every time she thought of the two of them together.

"I can't just show up on my own"

"Well, we'll all go, as a big group of friends. And we'll get Ernie MacMillan to come as your date. You can just go as friends"

"Look, why bother? He's got her now; I'm of no interest anymore"

"Hermione" Ginny huffed "where's your fighting spirit gone? You _will_ go to that dance and you _will_ look jaw-droppingly gorgeous. You _will not_ give up and you _will_ win back from that devious cow what should be yours anyway!"

Hermione did just what she said.


	11. Chapter 11: The Ball part 1

Chapter 11: The Ball…

Cedric had been feeling slightly dazed for the past few days, his brain wasn't functioning properly. Pain relief charms tended to do that, it was also fairly easy to be disorientated by Cho. She talked non-stop and he just couldn't hear himself think, he had been used to it before she broke up with him but, while he and Hermione had pretended to be together he had adjusted to being around people who were more … well _normal_.

Thinking of Hermione was something he tried to avoid doing because it made him feel very odd, it was like being homesick. He felt helpless all the time but it was 100 times worse when he thought about her. There was no sense in letting himself feel miserable all the time because there was no chance she'd think about even being friends now, after what he'd done. He always blamed himself, though it had been Cho who kissed him because he hadn't tried harder to explain and Hermione wouldn't believe him if he did.

The pain relief charms had dulled his senses and made him confused, it had been Cho that he'd wanted, hadn't it? Now he wanted Hermione back, he assumed it would pass, or rather hoped it would, because he knew full well that he no longer had any claim on her.

He had hoped he'd never come across Harry or any of the Weasley's ever again, he shuddered, now, thinking of the threats they had made. They would probably all quite like to hurt him right now and he honestly wouldn't blame them. Even Oliver had become quite icy towards him after he had found out what had happened in St Mungos. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that she actually cared for him at all, at least not in the way he thought he did for her but, still. Her face when she had seen Cho hanging round his neck seemed far too real; when he went to sleep at night it was all he could see behind his eyelids. It was torture.

Cho insisted that they both went to the ministry ball together; he had a ticket because he was a quidditch player and she had one because she had fitted the minister's wife with dress robes for the occasion. They met at the ball, she was receiving looks from several men around her, she was wearing a dress very similar to the one she had worn at the Yule ball except that this one was pink. He smiled slightly at her, though it was an incredible effort and they entered the hall, down the stairs. The hall did look very impressive, all the tables were surrounded by pale gold chair with red velvet cushions (Cho grumbled about her dress clashing with the décor), the walls were cream, decorated with gold and the floor and the stairs which sloped into the hall were dark wood, the stair carpet was also scarlet.

The effect on the whole should have looked overdone but it was just beautiful. A hall circled the ballroom with balconies on both sides so that people could look out over the dance floor or step onto exterior balconies for some fresh air.

A slow song was playing at the moment and Cho quickly found a giggling group of friends to talk to so he sat down, alone and was soon joined by Oliver and a couple of others he knew from Hogwarts.

Everyone seemed to know about their, rather messy, 'break-up'. A lot of them were on Hermione's side, they all still talked to him but most of them were marginally less friendly than they would have been in normal circumstances. At one point, Draco Malfoy walked past with Pansy Parkinson draped on his arm. Draped was really the right word for how she clung to him, as though she might dissolve or lose the ability to stand independently if she let go.

As they walked past Malfoy clapped Cedric on the shoulder

"You did the right thing, I would have done the same" he said, as if they had known each other for years "Actually, I wouldn't have gone out with Granger in the first place but the point is that you made the right decision in the end"

Pansy snorted with laughter and fluttered her eyelashes at Cedric slightly.

Cedric ignored them but his fists clenched, how did the have the audacity to insult _his_ Hermione? They moved on but he still felt sick, of all the cowardly, sli-

'Hang on a minute' said a voice at the back of his mind; it sounded a lot like his mother's voice 'what, _exactly_, do you mean, _your_ Hermione?'

'Well, I, I …just…it was well…I don't know' this voice sounded a bit like Ernie Macmillan when he had been insulted.

'Are you _sure_ about that?' said the first voice

'It was just a slip of the tongue' said a third voice, confidently

'Oh, shut up all of you' shouted a fourth

It was at this point that Oliver Wood said something which Cedric was glad about. When 4 different voices are all talking at once in your head and none of them is your own you may feel a little confused. And a fifth voice may start to ask questions about your mental health.

Unfortunately Cedric was so busy blocking all the voices out that he didn't catch what Oliver had said and it was necessary to get Oliver to repeat what he had said.

"I said" Oliver replied exasperatedly "'look over there!'"

The Weasley clan were pouring down the steps into the ballroom, all dressed up and looking very smart. Ginny walked down the steps on Harry's arm but when she got to the bottom she looked around and, obviously not seeing whoever it was she was looking for, huffed and stomped back up the stairs. She reappeared a few seconds later dragging behind her a very self-conscious Hermione. An audible gasp spread throughout the room, almost as loud as the ones there had been for Fleur and Ginny.

She did look absolutely staggering. Wearing that beautiful little toga-style dress that she had bought in Diagon Alley that time, her hair was piled elegantly on her head and she wore sweet little gold, high-heeled sandals.

Cedric felt sharp nails dig into his arm and looked up to see Cho glowering at Hermione who was trying very hard to ignore all the stares she was getting and, so, had begun to dance with Kingsley Shacklebolt, he was talking to her quietly and she smiled at something he said. Cedric looked from Cho, who was alternating between glaring at Hermione and fluttering her eyelashes at a wizard on the next table, to Hermione, who was gliding elegantly around the dance floor and laughing at something Fred (with whom she was currently dancing) had said, and back again. He felt as though he was waking up from an incredibly deep sleep and he suddenly knew what he had to do.


	12. Chapter 12: The Ball Part 2

Hey guys, I'm sorry this chapter is so long, most of the flashbacks are things you've read before, I cut it down as much as I could but the ones that I left in seemed kind of necessary anyway ... enjoy!

Chapter 12: The Ball part 2…

Cedric heaved a sigh and looked down from his balcony into the ballroom, Hermione was gone but Cho was still there. She was sobbing hysterically into the shoulder of the man she had flirted with on the next table. It was unbearably stuffy in that room and he had to get out before Cho saw him and started to wail even more loudly.

He left that balcony and crossed the hall to go onto one of the exterior balconies for some fresh air but found it already occupied.

Hermione stood there, completely still and silent, she seemed to be lost in thought. She leant against the rail and stared up at the stars, as he watched she heaved a deep sigh and turned to leave which was when she saw him. She froze.

"Hermione I have to explain, Cho and I, well" and then he paused, he couldn't think what to say, she mistook his hesitation for guilt and interrupted.

"Cedric" she murmured "it doesn't matter; it was all part of the original plan wasn't it? And I was" her voice broke and she drew a shaky breath "anyway, I must go back inside before people start to wonder where I've gone"

She was gone. Again. Harry stepped onto the balcony and Cedric suddenly remembered one of the threats Harry had made about hurting Hermione. A particularly unpleasant one involving glass salad spoons, his nose and some rather hungry rats.

"Relax" Harry smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes "I just have to give you a kind of present, just tip them into a Pensieve and stick your face in."

He handed Cedric a cardboard box that clinked quietly when it moved and left.

At home in his apartment that night he opened the box and found loads of different vials containing memories. A small piece of paper was folded neatly and balanced on the top. It read:

'_Cedric,_

_Most of these are from Hermione (though she doesn't know we've taken them) and there are some from Oliver and the rest of us. Hope they help._

_The Weasley Clan (& Harry)'_

Cedric looked at the clock, it was nearly 3am but he knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. He pulled out his Pensieve and poured memory after memory into it, before dipping his face into the surface and watching as snatches of each memory played out. A faint click sounded with each change of memory.

**CLICK**

_A teary first year was running through the corridors of Hogwarts, her bushy hair flying out behind her. She ran straight into someone and fell over (Cedric jumped as he recognised his 14-year old self). Cedric's friends laughed a little but he told them to shut up and helped her up as she confessed that she couldn't find her way to the entrance hall._

"_Go to the end of the corridor and turn right, it's at the very end" he had said she had thanked him profusely before wiping her eyes and taking off in the direction he had just pointed out._

**CLICK**

_He was 16 years old and striding down another Hogwarts corridor in the direction of the hospital wing, still in his quidditch robes. He passed a younger Hermione who was hugging a book to her chest and walking almost as quickly as he was in the opposite direction. He caught her arm as they passed and she jumped._

"_Is Potter alright?" he asked, feeling relieved when she smiled _

"_He's as good as can be expected, he's not badly injured, he'll be out soon" she paused and put a comforting hand on his arm, seeing his guilty expression "I think he's more upset about his broom than anything else"_

_Cedric smiled back._

**CLICK**

_Hermione was studying a book in Hogwarts library so absorbedly that her nose was only about an inch from the page, she didn't seem to notice when Cedric sat down next to her._

"_I don't suppose you could recommend any useful spells for me to use in the maze?" he grinned_

_She smiled right back at him "You know, Harry and Ron would say I was fraternizing with the enemy if the found out"_

_Cedric crossed his heart and pouted "I will never tell a living soul"_

_Nearly Headless Nick drifted through the library and Hermione glanced at him "In my experience dead souls can be quite talkative" he pouted even more at her and she gave in, laughing "Alright, you can look in this book" she handed him one from the pile on her table._

**CLICK**

_It was the night before the final battle and he had been reading a lot more to distract himself. Cedric climbed one of the many trees in the garden of Grimmauld Place, he settled himself on a branch with his favourite book only to find that the tree was already occupied. Hermione smiled at him_

"_It's alright, you can stay up here, what book are you reading?"_

_He showed her_

"_That's one of my favorites too" she smiled at him again _

"_I've been reading a lot more lately" _

"_It's understandable. I think-" she was interrupted by Cho arriving at the foot of the tree and demanding that he came down to keep her company. He saw for the first time Hermione's smile fade as Cho scowled at her._

**CLICK**

_He was following Oliver this time, across a battlefield littered with bodies; he was looking for those that were still breathing. There was a gasp to Oliver's right and he looked around quickly, Neville had fallen to his knees besides a woman's body with wildly curly brown hair. Cedric felt a little sick. Between them Oliver and Neville managed to help her back to the castle and he saw again Hermione bleeding and in pain, crumple to the floor. He saw his own face amongst the sea of others looking, just like them, ashen-faced and drained and above all frightened._

**CLICK**

_He landed next to her as Oliver flew away sniggering._

"_Have you made up your mind?" he asked casually, shouldering his broomstick._

_She nodded and bit her lip nervously, hunching her shoulders as she shoved her hands deep into her pockets._

"_My answer is yes" she said._

**CLICK**

_Hermione wrapped her arm round Cedric's waist and he did the same to her. Just as Rita passed them and spotted them, Hermione kissed Cedric on the cheek, as though she didn't know that Rita was there. There was a camera flash and Hermione jumped away, pretending to be surprised._

**CLICK**

_Hermione had frozen in front of the window, staring over her reflection's shoulder. Cho was walking towards them. She swallowed hard and quickly turned to Cedric, careful not to glance in Cho's direction._

"_I think I'm going to get that one, do you mind waiting outside for a minute?" Cedric assured her that he wouldn't._

_She leaned up and whispered in his ear in a very seductive voice, to anyone else it would look like she was saying something very suggestive. What she actually said was this "Don't look now but Cho's coming this way. I'll be back in a minute. If you need me to pretend to be jealous and to very dramatically and publically break-up with you just wink subtly when I come back out"_

**CLICK**

_Cedric saw himself talking to Fred Weasley but, this time, heard the conversation between Hermione and George._

"_So you are going out with him then?" asked George as they separated from the hug_

"_It would appear so" said Hermione sounding almost as surprised as George_

"_You know" said George in an enigmatic whisper "if it doesn't work out you can always choose me or Fred…or both" he added as an afterthought and Hermione giggled._

**CLICK**

_When they landed it was to see the Weasley brothers cowering in front of their little sister. They caught odd words such as 'talk', 'threaten' and 'hurt'._

"_Oh God" Hermione grinned "Run, Cedric or you'll get the big speech about hurting me. It's never made any difference before but they just don't seem to learn."_

_Cedric just laughed "seriously," Hermione tried to looked sombre "run while you've got the cha- oh dear they've seen you. Well you won't escape now but I can at least make it worth your while" she gave Cedric what he could honestly call the most amazing kiss he had ever had. Then she left him looking dazed._

**CLICK**

_The rain had soaked her through and the dress and her hair were dripping steadily. _

_He ran to her._

"_Hermione, I'm so sorry"_

"_No, I'm sorry" She hiccoughed "I was so horrid to you and … and" but she couldn't finish the sentence. He hugged her tightly as she wept. Eventually she stopped crying and chuckled slightly_

"_What?" asked Cedric_

"_I've just realised, we've had our first fight" _

**CLICK**

_Cho had found Hermione, scowling as Harry said something to her and she laughed._

"_Hello, Hermione" she said in a tone that stated plainly that she was not happy_

"_Oh hello, Cho"_

"_I need to talk to you about Cedric"_

_Hermione stiffened a little "Why?"_

_Cho sneered at her "Well, the thing is, I've decided that I want him back so, really, you need to back off"_

_Hermione glared at her "And why would I do that? He genuinely likes me and I like him too so just why should I 'back off'?"_

_Cho laughed mirthlessly "Well, look at you" she said, gesturing to Hermione's hair and then her clothes "Once he knows I'm interested again you'll stand no chance. I'm just warning you as a friend, you understand."_

**CLICK**

_He was stood next to Harry in the stands, watching himself fall. The scream erupted from Hermione's throat. She didn't reach for her wand, she didn't have time, but she flung her right hand outwards and a kind of translucent, pale blue flame seemed to leave her palm. It wrapped itself around Cedric and formed a kind of parachute so that he slowed down mid-fall and hit the ground gently, unconscious._

**CLICK**

_He was sat next to Ginny on the floor of Hermione's sitting room watching as Fred hugged Hermione tightly and she cried into his shoulder, dry choking sobs that shook her entire body. George rubbed her back soothingly. At one point Harry mentioned being able to move on but she shook her head violently and croaked that she thought she loved him. At which point Cedric wanted the ground to swallow him._

**CLICK**

Cedric found himself once again in his own sitting room, the Pensieve was now empty and it was nearly lunch time on Saturday. Now he just had to find Hermione and hope to God that she would forgive him for being such a complete idiot.


	13. Chapter 13: A resolution

Chapter 13: All's well with the world…

Hermione finished up with Amy's check-up. The little baby was doing well and had started burbling at people which everyone thought was absolutely adorable. She was a very pretty little baby with her fluffy dark hair and bright blue eyes and people made possibly even more fuss of her than they did of Victoire and the other Weasley grandkids (something that Fleur wasn't entirely happy about).

"Well, everything seems to be fine there" Hermione smiled at Padma as she handed the little baby back. Amy was snuffling lightly as she slept.

"Thanks" said Padma but her expression suddenly changed from happy to concerned "How have you been?" she asked

"Fine" said Hermione, not quite meeting Padma's gaze

"Well, if you're sure" Padma eyed her skeptically "We have to go now, because daddy will be home soon, won't he?" she directed the second half of the sentence at Amy, who was blinking awake. They said their goodbyes shortly afterwards and Hermione began to tidy up. It was dark outside, unusually dark for only 6 o'clock. Rain trickled down the window but that was expected in late September, the muggle streetlamps outside shone through the small stream pouring down the office window creating a dismal wobbly orange light in the room.

Hermione shivered a little and buttoned her long coat over her scarf and up to her ears.

She jumped when the door opened and one of her colleagues, Kyle, stuck his head around the door.

"Are you walking home?" he asked, smiling at her

"Yes" she said "I'm coming now" They often walked home together, she lived 2 blocks away from him so they walked together to the end of her road every night and then he would continue on his way and she would walk down her street to her house. It was an agreement that they always honoured, even in the pouring rain.

When they reached the end of her road tonight Hermione was shivering, her hair was soaking, making it even bushier than usual and water was dripping down the back of her neck.

The subject of their conversation was their love lives tonight.

"I really miss him but I can't be angry with him because the deal was that we'd go out until Cho decided she wanted him back"

"Aw, never mind" said Kyle, ruffling her hair slightly and earning a mock glare from Hermione as they reached the end of her road "He'll come back to you and if he doesn't he wasn't worth bothering with." They hugged and he said "At least the rain can't get any wor- oh you've got to be kidding me" The rain had begun to strike down so hard that it hurt the tops of their heads. Hermione didn't mind, she quite liked the rain, it was the cold that she hated so they quickly parted and she jogged down her road (though that isn't always easy in heels).

She let herself into her house, locking the door behind her. She took off her coat and scarf and fetched a towel so that she could rub her hair dry, she didn't care if it made her hair frizzier, no one was going to see. She made her way into the kitchen and it was only then that the man in her house spoke.

"Was he just a friend?"

Hermione had spun and had the tip of her wand poking him in the neck before it should have been humanly possible to do so.

"Cedric" she breathed, her stomach flipping "God, you look awful" He did, too, he looked like she had a few weeks ago. She was still miserable but at least she was sleeping on a night.

"Thanks" he said "Don't avoid the question" his tone held no real jealousy but Hermione was tired, in the literal sense but she was even more tired of feeling miserable about him and she snapped.

"What does it matter to you?" she snapped

"Can't I be a little protective over the woman I love?"

"That was Kyle and for your information, yes he is just a friend, even if I was interested in him, which I'm not, it wouldn't work out because he's GAY!" They had strode into the sitting room by now, Cedric was still waiting for her to realise what he had said but she seemed desperate to have a rant. Her voice escalated into an almost scream as she finally said all she wanted to say. "I KNOW THAT THE DEAL ONLY LASTED UNTIL CHO WAS INTERESTED AGAIN BUT YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST BROKEN UP WITH ME BEFORE YOU DECIDED TO SUCK EACH OTHER'S FACES OFF! IT WAS LIKE FINDING OUT ABOUT MARK ALL OVER AGAIN! AND THEN YOU HAVE THE CHEEK TO WALTZ IN HERE AND TALK ABOUT THE WOMAN YOU LOVE AND…and…what did you mean by that exactly?"

Cedric smiled uncertainly, it had occurred to him during her speech that she might, in fact, have moved on by now.

"I love you" he said, deciding that the simplest answer would be best.

"oh" said Hermione, not knowing what to say, she continued her rant, though with less anger than before "well, of course I love you too, but I- mfff"

She had been cut off by Cedric seizing her and giving her a kiss, she almost forgot what she was going to say. _Almost_, but not quite. She broke the kiss

"What about Cho?"

"We broke up. It's over"

"Definitely?"

"yes"

"Promise? Because I need to know for sure"

"I promise. Cross my heart, and all that stuff."

Hermione kissed Cedric this time but broke it off again

"You know, I'm going to have make you feel guilty for at least a while longer for making me feel that miserable, you can't just waltz in here and pretend that nothing ever happened"

"I know, I don't blame you"

"Don't say that, you really weren't that awful, I've been out with far worse people and if you keep pouting like that I'm going to have to start feeling guilty myself."

"Seriously, though, I'm very sorry for not realising my feelings sooner"

He looked so truly remorseful that Hermione had to kiss him again.

The rain still hammered on the windows but it didn't seem to matter much anymore

A/N: And they all lived happily ever after!!! I'm not sure if this is a good place to leave it - I could write an epilogue (a "5 years later..." kind of thing) let me know what you want, your wish is my command etc etc. Also let me know (if you want an epilogue) what should have happened to Cho in the time that has lapsed!!


	14. Chapter 14: the end

Epilogue

This is the world. Zoom in a bit closer, there is a small country called England. Nearly at the bottom and to the left is a small city, the name of which is of no importance, there is a village on the outskirts of this city – It's small but picturesque. Again, none of this really matters. What does matter, however, is that in this village there is a house. It doesn't particularly stand out from the others but it is this house that is important.

Take a moment to look at it, closely. It's pretty isn't it? On the large side without being ostentatious, old-fashioned but not out-dated. Sandstone with white painted windows and ivy around the door, a garden full of flowers with a wooden swing. It looks perfectly normal; no one would guess that a family of wizards/witches lived within those walls. But they do.

~*~

"Daddy!" squeaked a small 2-year-old boy, holding his toy train in one hand and tugging on his father's sleeve with the other "Sofa flied!"

His father looked down at him and grinned, he scooped the small boy up in his arms and swung him round in a circle, the train feel to the floor. The little boy was named Edward Diggory (he was, of course, one of Cedric and Hermione's children), he had his father's fair hair and facial features but his eyes were large and chocolate brown just like his mother's.

The "Sofa" that he had been referring to was sat just a few feet away (where she had landed after taking a leap from the back of an armchair) and watched, her real name was Sophia, though her siblings couldn't manage that yet, and she was also very clearly her father's daughter, only her love of learning ("mummy, will you teach me something?" was one of the most commonly heard phrases around the house) and the tilt of her chin hinted that her mother was indeed Hermione Granger. She wasn't really paying attention to the light scolding her mother was giving her ("what if you had fallen?"), too elated at her flight.

Hermione herself sat in an armchair across the floor with the third child, another little boy. Her stomach would soon be too swollen (with her 3rd pregnancy) for him to fit onto her lap comfortably. The boy at her feet was named Oliver (after his father's best friend), the exact replica of Edward, his twin. But Oliver sat and sucked his thumb while his brother laughed loudly; he was quieter than either his brother or his older sister, not timid, more thoughtful and not as extroverted. He yawned and rested his head against Hermione's leg.

His parents exchanged a knowing glance and all 3 children were soon tucked up in bed. Cedric and Hermione soon found themselves back downstairs in relative peace.

"I should warn you" said Hermione, rubbing her back to relieve some of the ache and resting her swollen ankles in Cedric's lap "that, much as I adore all of our children, this will definitely be the last one."

"You said that after Sophia was born" Hermione nodded "and after the twins were born"

"What can I say?" she grinned at him "you're just a very difficult person to resist."

He laughed and rubbed one of her feet gently "I am indeed" he agreed jokingly.

"Hm" Hermione paused "I think Harry and Ginny probably had the right idea, stopping at 3."

"And Ron and Padma?"

"Look, Ron's a Weasley boy, to be honest, it's a miracle there's only 6 of them"

Cedric laughed again "Talking of children, Bella's pregnant"

"That's great! How excited was Oliver?"

"Do you need to ask? By the way, he wants to thank you for introducing them"

"I never thought they'd actually get married – it took them so long" she bit her lip and looked pensive for a moment "I saw Cho in Diagon Alley today" she said as casually as she could.

"How many times has she been married now?" Cedric asked, starting to rub her other foot

"3, she saw me with the children and then she noticed how much like a beached whale I look…again"

"You look gorgeous, and…what did she say?"

"Actually she was surprisingly civil, almost a little apologetic, I think…do you still think of her sometimes?" her tone of voice was too casual.

"Not really" he answered and then he looked her in the face again "I don't need to, I love you. And I'm lucky enough that you took me back, even after I'd been a bit of an idiot"

"I would have done anyway – I wasn't exactly perfect and it seems I have no pride where you're concerned." She jumped "she just kicked!"

Cedric rested a hand on her stomach and felt the same movement as Hermione had and grinned. "She?" he asked "it's definitely another boy"

"Don't be silly it's a girl" she smiled "mother's intuition"

"Father's can't have that too?"

"Nope, besides, you know I'm right"

2 months later Hermione was proved right when little Grace Elizabeth Diggory was born. She was the first of their children to resemble her mother, her dark hair curled in the same way, she would grow up to be just as shy as her mother but just as intelligent and she would charm many people with her crooked grin.

A/N there we go…I'm not sure if I like it or not – I've tried to keep it fairly realistic where Cho was concerned (did you get the Twilight reference with the little boy's name?) anyway review and tell me what you think


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